Space Made Simple

Space Made Simple（SPMS）的建立将扩展一个非常成功的天文学/空间推广方案，该方案目前仅资助在威尔士（AstroCymru）实施，并开始在英国各地推广该项目。它还将为（目前没有资金的）Faulkes望远镜项目（FTP）提供一些必要的支持，并帮助制定一项教育方案，以支持Gaia空间使命。STFC的资助对于扩大该计划的地理范围以及开发该项目的关键方面至关重要，例如教师持续专业发展研讨会和新的在线资源，以支持学校参与STFC资助的项目，如Gaia。它由一个备受尊敬和经验丰富的天文学和STEM教育工作者团队领导。在这里，我们概述了我们的情况下，参与各种教育项目，形成我们的主要成果的主要工作人员的部分支持，和T&S的资金，使威尔士以外的讲习班交付。AstroCymru项目目前提供创新的高科技STEM教育计划，目标是威尔士地理上孤立和社会经济贫困的地区，由威尔士议会国家科学院（NSA）资助。在最初12个月的运作非常成功之后，AstroCymru已经与约26，700名参与者进行了互动-58所学校的近12，000名KS 2-5儿童（47所小学、11所中学和10所特殊教育需要单位/学校），许多学校被访问了几次;在59个活动中有14，700名公众，并在威尔士各地的10个活动中与273名教师合作，包括113名全天持续专业发展讲习班。该项目最近被选定为另一个3年的国家安全局资金（2015年4月1日至2018年3月31日），表明它已经在目标领域产生的影响。该方案的核心将是获得最先进的设施，如便携式3D投影系统、在线模拟和教育资源，以及使用研究级遥控地球仪（FTP）。这些将用于向各种观众提供令人兴奋和鼓舞人心的研讨会，讲座和表演。这种结合加强了每个课程的学习目标，并将允许提供涵盖广泛STEM主题的教育节目。高科技交付的视觉冲击和引人入胜的主题确保它吸引了所有年龄和能力的学习者的注意力。SPMS将包括学校和公共活动，讲座和研讨会，以及基于天文学和空间科学的在线资源和设施。该项目将在2年内直接接触15，000名学生/公众（通过在线资源间接接触更多），最初特别侧重于将项目扩展到英格兰，社会经济贫困和地理偏远地区。它将利用目前围绕欧空局任务的兴奋，如罗塞塔，盖亚和ExoMars，以及美国宇航局的任务，如黎明，冥王星快车和JWST，同时也针对载人航天飞行和国际空间站（例如蒂姆·皮克2015年11月的Principia飞行）。将制作一系列教育资源，免费提供给英国各地的所有学校，针对8-19岁的学生，让他们参与例如盖亚使命，并使用机器人望远镜对新发现的目标进行后续观测。SpMS代表了物超所值，将我们成功的，经过考验的基于天文学的STEM教育计划汇集在一个单一的组织下，扩大外展计划的覆盖范围，以涵盖更广泛的地理区域，并与新的研究项目挂钩。

The establishment of Space Made Simple (SpMS) will extend a highly successful astronomy/space outreach programme currently only funded for delivery across Wales (AstroCymru), and start to extend the project across the UK. It will also provide some essential support for the (currently unfunded) Faulkes Telescope Project (FTP), and help with the development of an education programme to support the Gaia space mission. STFC funding is essential to allow this extension of the geographical reach of the programme, and the development of crucial aspects of the project such as teacher CPD workshops and new online resources to support schools engagement in STFC-funded projects such as Gaia. It is led by a highly respected and experienced team of astronomy and STEM educators. Here we outline our case for partial support of the key staff members involved in the various educational projects that form our main deliverables, and T&S funding to allow the delivery of workshops outside Wales. Substantial match-funding is available to support any STFC funds awarded.The AstroCymru project currently provides innovative, high-tech STEM education programmes targeting geographically isolated and socio-economically deprived areas of Wales, funded by the National Science Academy (NSA) of the Welsh Assembly. Following an extremely successful initial 12 months of operations, AstroCymru has engaged with ~26,700 participants - almost 12,000 KS 2-5 children in 58 schools (47 primary, 11 secondary plus 10 SEN units/schools), many schools being visited several times; 14,700 general public in 59 events, and worked with 273 teachers over 10 events across Wales, including 113 in full-day CPD workshops. The project was recently selected for another 3 years of NSA funding (01/04/15 to 31/03/18), demonstrating the impact it has already had in the target area. Central to the programme will be access to state-of-the-art facilities such as a portable 3D projection system, online simulations and educational resources, and use of research-grade, remotely-controlled telescopes around the globe (FTP). These will be used to deliver exciting and inspirational workshops, talks and shows to a variety of audiences. This combination reinforces the learning objectives of each programme, and will allow delivery of educational shows covering a broad range of STEM topics. The visual impact of high-tech delivery and the engaging subject matter ensures that it captures the attention of learners of all ages and abilities. SpMS will include school and public events, lectures and workshops, and online resources and facilities based around astronomy and space science. It will directly reach 15,000 students/public over a 2 year period (with even more indirectly via online resources), with a particular initial focus on an expansion of the project into England, to socio-economically deprived and geographically isolated areas. It will tap into current excitement around ESA missions such as Rosetta, Gaia and ExoMars, and NASA missions such as Dawn, Pluto Express and JWST, whilst also targeting manned space flight and the ISS (e.g. Tim Peake's Nov. 2015 Principia flight). A range of educational resources will be produced that will be freely available to all schools across the UK, targeting ages 8-19, engaging them with e.g. the Gaia mission and carrying out follow-up observations of newly-discovered targets using robotic telescopes.SpMS represents excellent value for money, bringing together our successful, tried-and-tested astronomy-based STEM education programmes under a single organisation, extending the reach of our outreach programmes to cover a wider geographical area, and linking with new research projects.